


Becahood: We Met A Girl

by JustMeCareFree33



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Chloe the Pupper, F/F, I'm also a sucker of Jessley and they're not appreciated enough in this fandom, mentions of past Beca/Jesse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-14 03:50:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9159205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustMeCareFree33/pseuds/JustMeCareFree33
Summary: "You know what you need? A dog."ORIn which Beca is her usual grumpy self, excepts she kinda adopts a puppy, and meets this pretty redhead in isle 4 at the grocery store. Based on "Puppyhood: We Met A Girl".





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya! A little one-shot here based on the YouTube video: "Puppyhood: We Met a Girl". My first story so all criticism is welcomed! Compliments are nice too! P.S. Beca's views on animals in no way reflect my views on animals (I have three devil cats and two dogs and I love them all very much)! P.P.S. For this story I've turned Barden into a small town outside of Atlanta.

***

"You know what you need? A dog."

Beca glanced up from her phone, mouth still full of chicken burrito goodness, giving Stacie an eyeful when she mumbled, "Whhaa?"

Stacie shrugged, taking a sip of her water. "I said you need a dog."

"I know what you said, Stace. I meant it like 'what the hell do you mean I need a dog?'"

"I think you should get a dog because it'd be good for you."

Beca snorted. "Yeah, no. Not gonna happen."

"Aw, c'mon Becs!"

Beca shot her a warning glare. "I don't do animals." Her tone implied it was the end of the conversation but Stacie paid no head to the shorter girl's stink eye.

"Hear me out, okay? You just moved into your first condo-"

"Correction: I've been living there for almost three weeks now _and_ I had an apartment before-"

"Well sure, but you were living with Jesse then, and now that you're single and alone in that big ol' condo of yours, you should get a dog to keep you company. You know, for when your best friend ain't around!" Stacie shot her a wink.

Beca smirked. "Really now? I didn't know Fat Amy was in town." Stacie's jaw dropped and Beca laughed.

"You cut me deep, Becs. Real deep."

Beca shrugged, shaking her head. "But really though. No dog."

"But Beca dogs are so cute! They're cuddly, friendly, fluffy, total sweethearts…" Stacie insisted, twisting her lips in thought. "Yeah you could definitely use a dog to mellow out all of _this_ ," she said, gesturing to the frowning musician. Beca flipped her off in return.

Stacie snickered. She leaned forward suddenly, lowering her voice to a husk. "Plus, chicks dig puppies." Stacie winked again, laughing when Beca's cheeks grew ruddy. Beca threw her face into her palms with a groan.

"Stacie, you're my best friend whom I love like 'the sister I never wanted'," Stacie reached across the table to slap Beca's arm. "But I'm not getting a dog just to find myself a girlfriend. Jesse and I broke up like a month ago and I just…I'm not looking for a relationship right now."

Stacie Conrad (self-appointed best friend and unofficial "sister from another mister") was no stranger to the ways and wiles of Beca Mitchell. They had been best friends since birth. They grew up together, watched out for each other, and had one another's backs all through high school. Beca had been there for Stacie's pregnancy scare back in sophomore year and Stacie had been there for Beca when the tiny deejay started to question why she found the girl in her trig class more attractive than James Jackson, the (questionably) hottest guy in their school.

She had been devastated when Stacie moved down to Georgia for college while she was shipped up to Boston with her father, but they never lost touch and spent every summer together. Back when she told her best friend she had feelings for a _guy_ named Jesse (even when Beca had spent her senior year of high school finally some-what comfortable being known as the 'mysterious _gay_ alt-chick with the awesome mixes') Stacie just took it all in stride. Then again, Stacie was bisexual and knew what it was like to occasionally bat for both teams—once at the same time, or so she had bragged to Beca the morning after. Beca had hung up mid-conversation when she heard someone moaning in the background. Seriously, Stacie had no shame.

"Who said anything about a relationship? Like I always say Becs, the best way to get over someone old is to get _under_ someone new." Stacie wiggled her eyebrows, sporting her signature toothy grin. "But if you're not interested in chasing tail, so to speak, I'll be more than happy to step in for you."

Beca groaned. "Jesus dude like what the hell? You want me to get a dog so you can use it to find your next… _sexcapade_? No, just- just no. That's like, animal cruelty, or something."

Stacie huffed but finally relented, leaning back into her seat and grabbing her fork to finish her salad. "Fine. Just so you know, you're the worst wing-woman ever, Becs. Like… ever. But that's alright because I love you."

Beca rolled her eyes and the two went back to their meals in silence. After a minute Stacie looked up through her long dark lashes and grinned. "I still think you should get a dog."

 

***

 

It was true when Beca had said she "didn't do animals". Or rather animals just didn't do her. Perhaps both.

Her mother had a cat when Beca was younger (meanest bastard alive), and after being attacked by that goat at the petting zoo when she was ten, she had essentially sworn off all animals in general.

And really who could blame her? Animals were messy and smelly. They needed to be trained (unless you wanted poopy carpets and chewed up shoes) and constant supervision lest the damn thing wander off and get stuck under the bed or something. Not to mention dogs basically barked all the time and Beca valued her silence more than anything, especially when she was mixing.

If she wanted to deal with all of that then why not just adopt a toddler for crying out loud!

So no, she wasn't getting a dog. Stacie could suck it.

 

***

 

It would seem, however, that fate had other plans.

She was walking home after her shift at Residual Heat, the record label she had just started working for, still without a car and having decided against the bus to avoid any more potentially fatal run ins with the crazy old lady she had sat next to that morning.

She was wearing her headphones, more focused on the mix currently playing than what was in front of her. When she rounded the corner her nose nearly kissed the pavement tripping over some kind of animal cage. Luckily the cage was empty and Beca managed to stay on her feet (granted her big toe hurt like a mother), but the noise had caught the attention of the two employees standing in front of the pet store. Furthermore, now one of them was walking her way.

Despite her dark appearance, perpetual scowl, and " _don't fuck with me_ " attitude, Beca did in fact possess the ability to be polite (really only when necessary), and she knew it would have been rude to just ignore this girl.

Damn. She'd been less than ten minutes from home too.

Beca begrudgingly pulled off her headphones to dangle loosely around her neck and gave a tight-lipped smile to the grinning blonde striding up to meet her.

"Hi there!" (Oh dear god, one of _those_ people? Should she just keel over now or suffer through attempting to talk to this girl and ultimately die from her own awkwardness?) "Would you like to hear about our adoption program today?"

Beca would have answered that no, she did not want to hear about their adoption program today or any day or _anything_ regarding animals for that matter, thank-you very much. But, as per usual and because she was just so excellent talking to random people on the street, her words jumbled around inside her mouth before she could even get them out. Which was fine because the blonde was pressing on with or without Beca's approval.

"It's national Adopt a Pet Day, but here at Barden's _Pet-a-Tete_ we've turned it into Adopt a Pet Week!" She gestured to the various cages and dog pens before turning back to Beca with a sad smile. "All these little guys here come from a pound in Atlanta. They need good, loving homes, otherwise the pound will take them back to be euthanized by the weeks end."

The blonde suddenly looked at her, all big doe eyes and pouty lips, silently begging the question Beca was hoping to avoid. She gulped, palms sweating, suddenly nervous this girl could see straight into her 'non-pet-loving' soul.

"Jessica, please, I doubt she needs to hear all that," the second girl said, wandering over to Beca and Jessica, carrying two puppies in her arms. The brunette smiled politely at Beca and handed the bigger puppy to Jessica who at least had the decency to look apologetic. Beca was thankful for the interruption.

Despite her aversion to animals, Beca was indeed a sucker for pouting puppy-dog eyes (how ironic). It was pretty much how Jesse got her to go on a date with him way back in their first year of college. That big dope just had to have the sweetest looking pout she'd ever seen and after she eventually caved and went out with him, he knew he could get away with so much because of that look. (That bastard.)

"Sorry, Ash. I know we still have time and more than half of the dogs have been adopted already, it's just that I want these guys to go to awesome homes. Like now! Aw Ashley, can we keep this one? Please!"

Jessica's puppy was some large breed dog from what Beca could tell and was happily licking the blonde's face into slobbery oblivion, waving his tail back and forth in a mad blur. Jessica started giggling when the pooch began nipping at her hair, trying to climb up her chest to get better access with a surprising amount of success.

Ashley shook her head with a small smile, turning to Beca. "Would you mind holding this one while I pry my girlfriend free?"

Beca, who was watching Jessica being (gently) mauled by the beast in her arms, nearly jumped when a tiny bundle of fur was stuck under her nose. Ashley was already turning to help Jessica and Beca had no choice but to grab the puppy from her unless she wanted to be responsible for dropping the poor thing.

She wasn't all that familiar with dog breeds (she could at least tell you the difference between a black lab and golden retriever) but she was pretty sure the little pooch in her hands was a beagle. Its underside was white with a mix of tan and black patches on its back, and two black ears that were far too large and floppy for its tiny head. Beca tried to adjust her grip and was suddenly nose to wet black nose with the pup.

"She's the last of her litter." Beca glanced over at a messy-haired Jessica, having been freed from the puppy's assault while Ashley put him away with two others that looked just like him. She smiled at Beca.

"The littlest one there was. She can be a little shy and timid, which is probably why she hasn't been adopted yet, but she's an absolute sweetheart and just _loves_ her teddy." Jessica grabbed a tiny teddy bear from a nearby cage and handed it to Beca as little puppy teeth gently latched onto the bear's ear.

The beagle growled playfully when Beca gently tried to tug the bear away. Had she been aware of it, and not giving her fullest attention to the fuzzball in her arms, she would have felt her lips twitch with mirth… as if she were about to smile. (Oh dear god, the horror. She was so screwed.)

"What's her name?" she asked.

Jessica's smile widened and Beca realized her mistake, too little too late. "Whatever you want it to be."

Beca sputtered. Struggled to say something, anything. To give the dog back and run away as fast and as far as she could. She told Stacie "no dogs" and damn it, she meant it!

Ashley, almost nonchalantly, called over her shoulder, "You know, all store purchases are 50% off with every adoption. And you get an additional discount on every bag of dog food you buy from here for the next three months."

Beca could practically here the smile in Ashley's voice and if it was anything like the one Jessica was beaming at her then it was hopeless.

Well fuck.

So much for her "no pets" policy.

 

***

 

Her arms were filled to the elbows with bags of dog supplies, dog food, dog toys, dog books, and of course, _the dog_. It was a wonder how she managed to fish her keys out of her jacket without dropping anything. At least the puppy hadn't struggled or peed on her, so that was a plus. The second she was over the threshold she dropped everything in her right arm directly in the hallway, holding the pup in her left, and kicked the door shut with her foot.

She sighed, gently setting the beagle on the ground by her feet and waited to see what it would do. She expected it to run away, start chewing her shoes, or pee all over her nice wood floors, but instead she sat down on Beca's foot and looked up at her expectantly.

"What?" A head tilt. "Are you hungry or something?" No response. "Do you… want the grand tour?" A head swivel and a snuffle. "Well, I guess my home is now your home, or… whatever. So, uh- welcome?"

Oh god, she was even awkward talking to animals. But according to Jessica, animals responded best to their owner's voice and commands when the sound of their voice was familiar which meant "yes Beca you have to talk to it" and "no Beca you don't have to use that baby voice, just talk like you would if you were talking to yourself only now you've got someone listening. It's all in the book."

She huffed, bending over to pick up the bags from _Pet-a-Tete_. She should be blaming those two for this, but really Beca wasn't all that upset about it anymore. She did something today for someone else, for a good cause, and that filled her good deed quota for the year. Not to mention Ashley had thrown in that ' _Puppies: For Dummies_ ' guidebook for free, so really she shouldn't be blaming them for anything.

Beca gingerly moved her foot until the puppy was out of the way and she could remove her shoes. She stepped over the dog, _her_ dog, and made her way into the living room, hearing the click of claws as she was followed. She dropped the bags on the couch, catching a glimpse of white fur as the beagle started to explore the room.

Her condo was just a tad bigger than the apartment she had shared with Jesse. It had a nice open living room that connected to the kitchen and downstairs bathroom. The upstairs had two bedrooms, hers and a guestroom, the master bath, and she had transformed the loft overlooking the living room into a mini studio.

And although the rent was a tad pricey (Beca had spent her first week living off of nothing but Ramen noodles and tap water) she was happy with her abode. Her job was amazing, close, and paid really well. Her childhood best friend was even closer. And her neighbors seemed nice (not that she went out of her way to socialize with anyone unless it was out of pure necessity, but the couple on her left seemed like a pair of okay dudes and the older gentlemen on her right always waved when he saw her).

Her stomach growled and she realized the only thing she'd eaten all day was a bagel at lunchtime. She walked into the kitchen, _tch tch tch_ following her into the next room. Scanning the fridge didn't offer anything appetizing but she hadn't been to Piggly Wiggly in a week and the cupboards were just as displeasing. When in doubt, cereal never fails.

Something bumped against her leg, startling Beca out of her skin and three feet off the ground, until she remembered that she was no longer alone in her house but thankfully it was not a rat scurrying around her feet. She glanced down at the little furball leaning against her leg and wondered if she wasn't the only one hungry.

She knelt down to pick up the pup and walked back into the living room, rifling around in the bags until she found the two plastic bowls and the small bag of dog food. Back in the kitchen she set everything down, grabbing one bowl to fill with water and nearly slicing her finger in half trying to open the puppy food to scoop into the other. She sat back on her haunches facing the puppy, the bowls sitting between them.

"Not hungry?" Big brown eyes blinked up at her, but no response. Beca hummed, pushing herself up to fill her own bowl with food. Normally she would eat in the living room, catch up on some Hulu, and maybe do some mixing, but tonight she had company and the pooch still wouldn't touch her food. Beca crossed her legs and sat down to eat. To her surprise, after a tiny questioning sniff, the pup started eating too.

"Geez, you're not part copy-cat or something right?" The only response was a series of crunches and sloppy licking noises. Surprisingly it didn't gross her out as much as she thought it would, but that could just be because she was starving. "Slow down a little, huh bud? There's plenty of food in the bag." Crunch. Munch. Slop. Lick.

"So… what to name you?" She briefly thought about naming her 'Stacie' but quickly aborted the idea, knowing full well the leggy brunette would tease her relentlessly if she did so. But nothing else was standing out in her mind at the moment. Beca balanced her bowl on her knee and took out her phone, Googling a list of baby names (it was basically the same thing). After a few minutes scrolling through the A's and the B's with no luck, she stopped half-way through the C's.

"Chloe…" A pause in the crunch. Head tilt. "Chloe?" Wag. Wag. Wag. "Alright. Chloe it is." _Yip_!

If only her father could see her now. He'd probably point out her stupid grinning face and make some comment about the ridiculous cooing noises she was making, because that's what she would have done if she were him. And there was the possibility that come tomorrow morning, she'll wake up to pee stains on her carpets and toilet paper running through the house and realize she'd made the biggest mistake of her life by getting this dog…

But for now, she was actually kind of happy with this. With Chloe the puppy. Her puppy.

Oh wait until she told Stacie.

 

***

 

"Beca _coooome ooooon_!" Beca rolled her eyes for the… well, honestly she'd lost count of how many times in just the past five minutes alone.

"Stace, for the last time, no. You cannot use my dog to get yourself laid." Stacie opened her mouth with a retort but Beca cut her off, pointing an accusatory finger. "And I don't care if she _is_ a 'babe magnet', Chloe isn't going anywhere with you. Mayo or mustard?"

Stacie huffed her annoyance and grabbed the mustard from Beca to decorate her sandwich with. "You're killing me Mitchell. Absolutely killing me."

Beca shrugged, not bothering to hide her smirk or duck away from her friend's playful smack. This conversation had been going on for a few days now and Beca was never going to change her mind on the matter so she was used to the whining and the playful violence.

She was putting away the condiments when she caught a glimpse of Stacie leaning precariously over the side of her stool and holding something in her hand, trying to whisper-call Chloe to her. Beca grabbed the nearest throw-able item (a K-cup for her Keurig) and nailed Stacie's shoulder with it. The girl yelped and sat up quickly, having been caught with her hand in the cookie jar so to speak.

"Dude," Beca chastised, "how many times do I have to tell you, don't feed Chloe people food!"

" _Dude_ ," Stacie mocked, dropping the piece of chicken she had tried to slip to Chloe back onto her plate. "I can't feed her. I can't use her to pick up 'dicks-slash-chicks'. Is there anything I _can_ do with her or is Chloe exclusively yours?"

Beca rolled her eyes, bending over to pat Chloe's head as the puppy skirted around her legs and asking for her owner's attention.

It was strange to think that just two months ago Beca was living the happy bachelorette life; all alone in her new condo, the thought of a pet never once crossing her mind. Now it seemed virtually impossible to imagine what her place would be like without her rambunctious little Chloe skirting around the floors.

It had certainly been touch and go in the beginning (Beca nearly had a heart attack when she came home after work the day after she adopted Chloe and found a little yellow spot on her living room carpet and Chloe munching on one of her socks), but she found Chloe was easy to train and they had quickly found a routine that allowed Chloe to do her "business" when they were outside and not when Beca wasn't home.

It had taken some time but after getting a feel for her new home Chloe had come out of her shell and now happily ran around without a care in the world. She was always looking for something to do or play with. Usually with her teddy bear or with Beca. Sometimes both. And after warming up to Stacie, Chloe loved the attention the taller brunette showered her with whenever she visited.

And while she would never admit such a thing aloud (not even in Chloe's presence), Beca knew that this pup had changed her and probably for the better. Stacie had been trying relentlessly to get Beca to be "less like a hermit and more like an actual person" before Chloe came along, and to no avail. But it would seem all the grumpy deejay needed was a flouncy furball to keep her company and drag her out of her bubble.

She now knew her neighbors a little better after having stumbled upon Luke and his boyfriend Tom returning home one night while she was out walking Chloe. The duo basically gushed over her tiny companion, taking turns trying to pet the curious puppy and conversing with Beca. It wasn't until Chloe was lying on Beca's Chucks in exhaustion that they all went their separate ways, but not without making Beca promise to stop by sometime for a cup of coffee and lemon cakes.

Talking to strangers was a breeze compared to what it used to be like for the young producer. It was surprising how easy she found conversing with random people in the park or on the street could be if she had Chloe with her. Everyone spent so much time cooing over and asking about her puppy that Beca didn't have to say anything about herself or struggle through small talk. Chloe was like her personal people buffer.

"Seriously though, Becs. Just let me take Chloe for a walk downtown or to the park down the street. Fifteen minutes max and I'll have enough numbers for the both of us! Granted I get first pick…" Stacie pleaded.

She threw her hands up in frustration when Beca gave her a pointedly blank look. "Damn it Becs, work with me here!"

A yap had them both glancing down at Chloe who was looking up at them before getting distracted by her wagging tail.

Stacie pointed at Beca and frowned. "You just want to hog Chloe because you know she can get you all the pretty girls." She smirked when Beca blushed and grumbled a "shut up".

Stacie sighed, whispering something that sounded suspiciously like "selfish bitch". Beca threw a potato chip at the taller woman in retaliation but it bounced off her nose and fell to the floor. She snatched it up before Chloe could sniff it out, although the pup was quite distracted at the moment; she had managed to catch her tail and was proudly gnawing on her prize.

"Mark my words, Mitchell" Stacie vowed, biting into a carrot stick and waving the rest of it at Beca for emphasis. "That dog is gonna find you a girlfriend one day." This time Beca threw a piece of turkey from her sandwich and watched it slap against her best friend's chest and disappear inside her cleavage. Stacie didn't even flinch.

"Just saying."

 

***

 

They were out for a walk early Sunday morning, Beca having jogged the first twenty minutes of it in order to keep up with Chloe who was constantly pulling and tugging her to and fro. Seriously, it was like Beca was the one on the leash and Chloe was in charge of where they went.

They usually kept to the same route each time they went out: five minute walk down the road to Webster Park, spend ten or so minutes sniffing around and meeting new people or dogs, cut through the park into Downtown Barden for more sniffing and socializing, and finally the return walk home either back through or around the park, although walking around usually took them longer.

By the time they made it through the park and the majority of downtown, starting to circle back around, Chloe was finally starting to tire and Beca was hungry. Luckily, Piggly Wiggly was only a few blocks away. They might as well get their shopping done and avoid coming back into town later.

"What do you say, Chlo? Stop by Piggly, then head home?" Tiny ears flapped at the sound of her name and Beca took it as affirmation. "Yeah, you're right, we are running low on groceries." Chloe yipped, darting forward to nibble on a dandelion poking through the sidewalk. Beca smiled, gently pulling Chloe along and away from the flower. "Don't worry dude, we'll grab some food for you too."

A sudden breeze blew harshly and Beca had to squint against the oncoming wind, shivering at the sudden chill. She stuffed her nose inside the collar of her leather jacket until the wind died back down. It was mid-November and while most days had remained blissfully temperate, some days Mother Nature wanted to remind the townspeople of Barden that "winter is coming", or however that stupid reference was supposed to go (stupid Jesse for making all those tv/movie references).

Beca couldn't help but grin thinking about her dork of an ex-boyfriend and the fact that he was still one of her closest friends. They had met back during freshman year of college at Berklee, and while their personalities had certainly clashed to begin with (alt-chick meets nerdy movie buff) the two had grown close; not by choice of course, Jesse basically forced their friendship through countless movie nights, cheesy one-liners, and hours of working together at the college radio station.

They had started dating towards the end of their first year and honestly, Jesse was the only reason Beca ever went back to college otherwise she would have cashed in on her dad's bribes and left for LA. But she was glad she stayed, because after some long hours, hard work, and (let's face it) serious ass-kissing, she got a job at a small studio in Boston, nothing fancy, but it was the stepping-stone she had been waiting for. And it led to the record label she worked at now so she really couldn't complain.

After a while, Jesse and Beca fell into a rhythm that gradually grew less and less romantic and more platonic as time wore them down. Beca hated herself a little to think it, but a part of her believed that one of the reason she and Jesse fell out of love was because of her _preferences_ (specifically of the female persuasion). But Jesse was indeed her first love and such an awesome guy all around, and despite being the wrong gender she still loved him. She just wasn't _in love_ with him. She had tried to make it work, but in the end it didn't matter because they both agreed that they made better friends then boyfriend and girlfriend.

Thank god Jesse was the sweetheart he was and the two were still as close as when they had been just friends; he had even helped her move down to Barden when she got the job offer at Residual Heat and had been down to visit twice since. The night Beca adopted Chloe, Jesse was the second person she texted (Stacie being the first) which was immediately followed up by his reply with far too many emojis and exclamation points. The nerd.

Beca was still smiling when Chloe and she walked up to the front doors of Piggly Wiggly, but it promptly fell when she saw the new sign hanging from one of the sliding doors:

_**No Dogs Allowed!** _

"What?" Beca stared at the sign longer than necessary, glancing down at Chloe who looked up at her in return, head tilted in curiosity.

Beca looked around, wondering what she should do. She couldn't just leave Chloe outside in the cold (even though her pup was wearing the cutest sweater Jessica had convinced Beca to buy) and she didn't trust anyone not to steal her dog. She supposed they could just head home and she could come back later, but it was already starting to get busy and Beca hated shopping when she had to fight her way down the bread isle and resist the urge to scream back at the screaming babies. So, really, there was only one plausible solution.

Beca knelt down, scooped Chloe up close to her chest, and hid her inside her jacket.

It wasn't particularly do-able as she had to keep her left arm pressed tightly against her stomach to hold Chloe in place, and had anyone been paying attention they probably would have noticed how one side of her jacket bulged and wriggled from time to time, but thankfully the store was only partially busy for a Sunday morning and nobody seemed to care about the awkward alt-chick with the bulky headphones and weirdly shaped leather jacket. All the better for her then.

Beca grabbed a cart and started making her way through the store, avoiding the busiest isles and grabbing stuff that could at least get her through the week without having to come back for anything. She thought she had gotten lucky because Chloe hadn't moved a muscle since stashing her inside the jacket, but it would seem her luck was running out when Chloe started to get antsy being cooped up too long.

"Hey, ruggrat, calm your tits will ya?" Beca whispered, pretending to straighten out her jacket while simultaneously trying to keep a wiggling puppy at bay. "We're almost done, 'kay bud? Just a few more minutes."

Talking to Chloe seemed to calm her down, although to anyone nearby it probably looked like Beca was talking to her left boob, but so far nobody had given her a second glance and the last thing she needed before hitting check-out was taco seasoning down isle four. Thankfully, there was only one other person in the isle and they were at the farthest end. Unfortunately, Chloe chose that exact moment to bark.

"Cool it, dude!" She whisper-shouted, tucking her hand into her jacket to scratch Chloe's head in a weak attempt to get her to quiet down. "Just let me grab something and we'll be out of here before you-"

It was at that moment Beca glanced up to find that the woman they had been sharing the isle with was suddenly two feet away and looking like she was contemplating calling those men from the movies who wear the nice white clothing and carry around really big needles.

Beca's mouth suddenly went dry, making it difficult to swallow. It had to be because this girl thought she was some kind of maniac and _not_ because said girl was absolutely gorgeous. Her sweating palms were obviously from getting caught and _most definitely not_ because the redhead to her left was staring at her with big blue eyes and an uneasy smile with perfect teeth. Her brain short-circuited because she was busted, _**not**_ because she was so suddenly _floored_ by the redhead in isle four.

…what the actual fuck?

Just as it looked like the girl was going to make a run for it Beca turned to face her fully and parted her jacket, Chloe poking her head into view. The woman's expression changed instantly, making Beca wheeze with how bright her smile was. She went to say something, mostly along the lines of "oh-em-aca-gee" (like… what?), but Beca held up a finger and quietly begged her not to. If she got caught now it would have all been for nothing.

The redhead smiled and mouthed a small "sorry" before giggling, and seriously Beca was going to go into cardiac arrest if this woman kept being this adorable.

The woman glanced past Beca's shoulder, her baby blue eyes widening before she casually stepped directly into Beca's personal bubble and picked something off the shelf in front of them. "I heard this is really good in stir fry," she said, smiling at Beca with that crazy perfect grin.

Beca for her part was completely lost. Had she missed something when she was staring or asked something in her jargoned mumbling? Were they suddenly in a parallel universe where she and the redhead were best friends? It had to be this girl's proximity and the fact that she smelt like cinnamon and cookies that was making her head spin like crazy.

The woman, having noticed Beca's confusion, gave an almost imperceptible nod to Beca's right and Beca finally caught a glimpse of the employee stocking the shelf beside them.

Beca smiled to herself. This girl was covering for her. She found the sentiment oddly sweet and couldn't help but crack a grin back at the girl, adjusting herself to better hide Chloe from the stock-boy's view.

"Oh, really?" she asked, glancing down at the hot sauce in the redhead's hand and trying not to make a face. She could handle a little bit of spice from time to time, but why anyone thought putting battery acid on your food and then into your body was a good idea was beyond her. Jesse had been one of those people and had once tricked Beca into trying some hot sauce one time when they had gone out to eat. Beca had spent fifteen minutes in the restroom, puking up her dinner and crying her eyes out until Jesse had rescued her with some milk he'd run to grab from the mini mart down the street. Jesse had learned his lesson after spending two nights on the couch; Beca and hot sauce was a big fat _no_.

"What else do you cook up with it?"

"Oh, a little of this, a little of that. If you're looking to add a little kick to any dish this is the way to go."

Beca resisted the urge to shudder and shrugged her shoulders, smirking. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind if I ever decide to kill myself. Much more interesting way to go than jumping off a bridge or something."

The girl laughed and honestly Beca had never heard anything so sweet sounding. So full and cheerful, yet oddly light, and wonderfully beautiful. Beca was suddenly yearning to hear her laugh again and again and- _holy shit get a grip Mitchell_!

The stock-boy finally finished and left the isle. Beca sighed in relief, letting Chloe poke her head out once again. To her surprise (and great distress) the redhead stayed close, reaching out a tentative hand for Chloe to sniff.

"I love your puppy!" she whispered which wasn't really necessary since they were the only ones in the isle now, but she leaned towards Beca as she said it and that was doing all kinds of weird things to the brunette's stomach. Beca hoped her smile looked somewhat genuine and not like she was about to hurl all over this pretty girl's nice boots.

She looked back up at Beca, all bright eyed and small smiles, and Beca fought hard to swallow the sudden anxiety swelling in her chest.

_Talk about Chloe. Talk about Chloe. Chloe's your people buffer. Talk about Chloe to this insanely beautiful stranger- ah god damn it!_

"Uh ha, t-thanks. Her name's Chloe." And Beca had thought it was impossible for this girl's smile to get any bigger, but suddenly it was and suddenly Beca was in dire need of that defibrillator.

"Well what a lovely coincidence, so is mine!" She pulled back slightly and stuck a hand out for Beca to take. "Chloe Beale."

Beca reached out to shake it, internally screaming when she thought about how sweaty her palm probably was at the moment. But if it was and it bothered Chloe she didn't let on, only smiling brightly at Beca (like seriously she was going to need sunglasses if she spent any longer with this girl). The prospect of spending time with Chloe (human Chloe, not puppy Chloe… oh boy, that could get confusing) made Beca flush and trip up.

"Mmmitchell. Uh- Beca… Mitchell." Oh dear god, _why_?

Chloe snorted and Beca mentally kicked herself for finding everything about this woman cute. "Okay, double O seven. Is this what you secret agents do in your time off; grocery shop while hiding a dog in your cool leather jacket?"

She laughed at Beca's befuddled expression and the deejay felt the corners of her mouth stretch into a sort of smile. This girl was weird, but in a good way. Well at least she knew the movie reference—hats off to Jesse, though she would never tell that to his face and she still disliked movies—and she said Beca's jacket was cool so there was that too.

"Well sure, even spies need a little downtime now and again. And I don't go anywhere without my sidekick," she answered, nudging Chloe out of her jacket to give her arm a rest. Chloe may still be a puppy but she was putting on weight like a sumo wrestler and her arm was starting to cramp up.

"And how, pray tell, do you intend to get through check-out without blowing your cover? Admittedly your disguises are not as slick as you might think."

Beca's face fell. _Shit_.

"I-I… hadn't thought that far." Chloe laughed and Beca's face turned two shades darker. Oh man, how embarrassing would it be to get kicked out of Piggly's for stowing away your puppy and in front of a hot girl no less- wait, what?

"Well, if you'd like," Chloe said, reaching out to grab Chloe and her leash from Beca which she relinquished without a second thought (so much for not trusting someone to steal her pup) and tucking them away inside her peacoat, perfectly hidden. "I'll run outside and wait out front for you to check out, that way neither of us get caught."

"Neither of _us_?" Beca asked, although she was nodding her head along with Chloe who adjusted the smaller Chloe inside her jacket before grinning at Beca.

"Well yeah. I'm an accomplice now. In too deep, no way out, and all that jazz." And Beca couldn't help but laugh at how weirdly amazing this girl actually was. Beca waved her off with a "yeah, yeah, be right out" as Chloe left the isle and she spent an embarrassingly long time staring after her, snapping out of it when a gentleman rounded the corner and they made awkward eye contact.

She quickly grabbed the packet of seasoning (the reason this all started in the first place) just as her eyes landed on the hot sauce bottle Chloe had picked up before. On impulse Beca grabbed the bottle—honestly what would she ever do with it—and threw it in her cart alongside the taco seasoning. And that's when she noticed Chloe's abandoned basket lying by her feet and Beca grabbed that as well.

When she walked back outside, left arm laden down with her bags and right hand carrying a special bag of groceries, she saw Chloe and Chloe (see, confusing) walking around in a patch of grass in the small parking lot. They both spotted Beca walking towards them, her puppy darting forward and yanking on her leash to greet her best friend because she had been _gone for so long, where were you, I missed you!_

"Calm down furball, I get it, I get it." Beca glanced up at Chloe and nearly jumped when she saw the other woman already looking at her and smiling.

"You're really good with her and she's very well trained."

Beca laughed lightly and if she wasn't carrying all these bags she would've been rubbing her neck or messing with her hair in her nervousness. "Y-yeah, well, she's a good dog, ya know? Heh…" Chloe offered up the leash and Beca remembered what she was carrying in her hand.

"Oh, yeah, so like," and they swapped bag for leash while Beca continued to vomit her words. "I didn't know if, like, you had finished or whatever, but you offered to watch my dog, and… so, I thought, you know, why not? And I didn't want you to have to start all over in case someone grabbed your stuff, so I just bought what you had, but- umm… yeah."

"You… bought my groceries?" Chloe looked up from peering through the bag Beca had handed her and Beca burned under her jacket collar, her mouth suddenly dry all over again. "No way. No, I- I can't… it was the least I could do. What do I owe you?" Chloe started to riffle around in her purse and Beca on impulse (because that seemed to be working overtime today) reached out to put a hand over Chloe's, stopping her.

"No, no, please, i-its fine, really!" And suddenly Chloe was looking at her and she realized they were back to sharing their personal space, only Chloe didn't seem to mind Beca intruding on hers. In fact her smile only grew as her eyes crinkled and Beca was sure her face was going to be stuck looking like a tomato.

"Well, can I at least thank you properly over dinner?"

Yup. Permanent tomato.

It was like someone had taken the rug right out from under Beca's feet and she was suddenly weightless in the air. Oh, wow, had she heard right? Was she seriously asking Beca out? She should probably answer, except her brain was misfiring and Chloe wouldn't stop smiling which was seriously not helping, like, at all. She tried to speak only her throat closed up and she had to awkwardly clear it in order to properly breathe and talk again.

"Y-yeah, yeah. I mean, that would be, uh, gr-great." Beca winced at the way her voice cracked and winced even harder when she remembered something. "Except I've got to take her to the vet this afternoon and then do some work." And honestly, she hated how much that sounded like an excuse and she hated herself for the way Chloe's eyes seemed to dim and her smile fell with a small "oh".

And if Beca's heart hadn't gone through enough torture already, when Chloe's bottom lip jutted out and she gave Beca the sweetest, most wonderful pouty eyes (like Jesse's pout had nothing on Chloe's baby blues), her heart practically exploded inside its cage.

It was probably why she suddenly blurted, "Unless you want to come over for dinner?"

And yeah, okay, maybe it was worth it to see Chloe's face light up like that again.

Oh, Stacie was going to be so pissed when she found out Chloe had scored Beca a date.

 

***

 

Beca was freaking out. Chloe was coming over in less than an hour and she was totally panicking.

After Beca asked if Chloe would like to come over for dinner, it was like a switch had been turned on and broken inside the redhead because her flirting suddenly went from 10 to 100. Thankfully the pup was there to save her awkward human from making a fool of herself and dragged Beca in the direction of home—but not before she and Chloe exchanged phone numbers and Beca gave Chloe the address to her condo. Chloe shot her a coquettish wink that had Beca almost tripping over the leash.

When they returned home, Beca was on a mission to clean up her pad and make it look presentable. She vacuumed, swept, and scrubbed all the floors, counter-tops, and everywhere else that looked even remotely dirty. Two o'clock came faster than she would have liked and she raced outside to her car, only to realize she had forgotten Chloe inside which like, stupid, stupid, stupid.

They got back from the vet around three and Beca spent the next two hours working on a few demos for one of her clients. After that she gave Chloe a bath, gave herself a shower, and spent over an hour trying to decide what to wear. In the end she picked one of her nicer looking plaid shirts and a pair of dark skinny jeans. When all that was said and done she had a little under an hour to throw something together for dinner.

She plugged in her iPod and hit the playlist of her favorite mixes for a little background noise. She rushed around her kitchen, tripping over Chloe too many times to count before she decided to put her in the new doggy playpen, courtesy of Ashley. Chloe would probably outgrow the thing in another month or so but it was hard to say no when Ashley gave you that look, backed up by Jessica's winning smile and pleading eyes. Those two, always in cahoots they were.

In the end she settled for making turkey tacos (she'd improvise for Taco Tuesday) and was just setting the plates on the island when she heard the doorbell ring. Chloe howled, trying to match the pitch, and wouldn't stop until Beca picked her up and ran for the door.

"Hi!" Chloe chirped with a smile and Beca seriously wondered if this girl ever stopped smiling. One of her hands was tucked under a bakery box while the other held up a bottle of red wine. "I brought the finest!"

"All wine is fine wine in my books, but I appreciate the thought." Chloe laughed and Beca stood back to allow the other woman into her condo. Chloe began to wriggle in her grasp, strangely excited to greet the newcomer, even though they had only met this morning while it had taken Stacie a whole week just to be able to pet Chloe. She relented and set her back down. "Can I take your coat?"

Chloe shot a grin over her shoulder with a small "thank-you", unbuttoning the grey peacoat and slipping out of it with Beca's help. Her outfit nearly sucker punched Beca when the brunette finally saw what she was wearing. A navy blue strapless dress that stopped mid-thigh, black heels, and perfectly curled hair were more than enough to take her breath away ( _oh geez, again with the mooning Mitchell_?)

She stepped further into Beca's apartment. "You're place is amazing!" Chloe spun around to take it all in and Beca tried really hard not to openly stare. Tried and failed, of course.

"Where can I put these?" Chloe asked, brandishing the bottle and the mysterious bakery box.

"I can take the wine and pour us a glass. As for the box, you can just set it down in the kitchen…which is this way," she quickly added, walking past Chloe to her little kitchen in search of a corkscrew.

Chloe followed her while she was followed by the smaller Chloe who was beginning to whine from lack of attention. The redhead stooped low and began petting Chloe as she flopped onto her back for a belly rub and Beca was left to wonder what on earth had gotten into her pooch.

It wasn't that Chloe had ever really been opposed to strangers (like Beca was) but she wasn't one of those overly friendly dogs either. It took her a while to warm up to people and other dogs, and if you tried to pet her when she wasn't comfortable with you she would shy away with her tail between her legs until she was safely hidden behind Beca's feet.

When Jesse visited last month he had made it his personal goal to get Chloe to play with him; going so far as to lie down on Beca's living room carpet with a doggy treat perched on his forehead just to get the beagle to come near him.

But then, here comes Chloe and suddenly her pup is acting like they're the best of friends, licking her fingers, accepting belly rubs, and fetching her teddy for Chloe. Beca felt her lips twitch in a half grin as Chloe gently played tug-of-war with the puppy. This girl was certainly something.

She hadn't realized she was staring until Chloe suddenly looked up, catching Beca off guard with her thousand watt smile and baby blue eyes. She quickly looked away as her cheeks flushed two shades darker. She scrambled through on of the drawers to find the corkscrew and gave a small victory cry when she found it.

"Your dog is too cute." Beca nearly spilled the wine she was pouring when Chloe spoke, having abandoned the other Chloe to play by herself for the moment and joining Beca in the kitchen. And she was close, not as near as they had been at the store but Beca could still detect the aroma of cookies and cinnamon.

"Yeah, she can be a handful at times, but she's kind of grown on me." Beca handed Chloe a glass and avoided watching the redhead's lips press against the brim, her lipstick smudging against the side as she sipped- okay so maybe she was watching. "She's usually not so good with strangers."

Chloe giggled. "I just have a way with animals; have for as long as I can remember. Probably because I grew up on a farm."

Beca's eyebrow hitched. "Oh really?"

"Mhm. Sumner County, Tennessee; born and raised." Chloe noticed Beca's look and giggled. "And yes, if you're going to ask, I do have an accent. It just took me some time to get rid of it."

"Oh no, I get it. Sometimes a little bit of Boston shines through when I talk every once in a while so I get what you mean." The timer on the stove buzzed and Beca turned to pull out the taco shells before they burned. "I hope you like turkey tacos."

"Oh I'm a vegetarian." Beca visibly paled but it turned into a relieved sigh when Chloe started laughing. "I'm joking, of course," she said between giggles. "I take it your from Boston then?"

"Nah, I just went to school up there. My dad was a professor so, you know, free college and what not. I just moved down here for my work. I'm a part-time producer at Residual Heat, the other half of the time I deejay at a couple of clubs in Atlanta. But that's really only on weekends and for fun, just to get my sound out there, you know? What I really want to do is move to LA to work as a full-time producer, maybe start my own label, or- um, wow, okay, uh I'm rambling. Um, ha, yeah. I'll j-just… stop that."

And if her cheeks weren't burning before, the sound of Chloe's laugh and the feel of her palm resting against Beca's bicep surely would have set them aflame.

"No, no, don't stop, please. I love when people talk about what makes them happy. It's like, totes my thing." Chloe grinned and suddenly Beca was smiling back.

"Your thing?"

Chloe nodded, attempting a serious expression, but her lips quirked and Beca realized this girl was too cute for her own good. "Well, yeah. I'm a huge people person and seeing people be themselves is like the best kind of candy. I just love how people lose themselves in the moment. Like when I was younger and my mom would randomly start singing 'Hound Dog' or 'Burning Love' while making dinner. Or when my friend Aubrey talks about her retreat. Or you just now. It's like seeing a little piece of what makes someone who they really are. It's happiness."

And Beca didn't know what to say to that, not from lack of trying or from her awkwardness, but from having been floored yet again by this girl and her strange devotion to seeing the world through rose-colored lenses. Beca usually spent her days avoiding people because people were cruel, and selfish, and two-faced. But this girl? She had actually found a way to enjoy humanity. And maybe she was just a little bit jealous, but really she was just as fascinated and falling that much faster than before.

"You're kind of weird, you know that right?"

Chloe shrugged. "The sky is blue and Walt Disney was a genius. Some things are just facts." And they shared a grin.

By now they were seated at the island counter, sitting across from one another as they made their tacos. Chloe was overloading hers with a mountain of tomatoes when she suddenly gasped. "No way!" She reached across the counter and grabbed the bottle of hot sauce Beca had bought that morning. "You actually bought this? I thought you didn't like spicy?"

"I still don't, but you seemed to so I just grabbed it."

Chloe's eyebrow quirked. "Oh? Were you planning on having me over often then?"

And of course she said that just as Beca took a bite out of her taco, making her red in the face while her cheeks were stuffed like a chipmunk. She swallowed too soon, the hard shell scratching her throat and making her cough uncontrollably.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! Please don't die, I was only teasing!" Beca nodded, fighting the urge to cough and clearing her throat with a sip of wine. (Man, how embarrassing would that be? Kicking the bucket during a dinner date? Yeesh!)

When Beca finally overcame her embarrassment and was able to look at Chloe again, the redhead was giving her an apologetic grin and suddenly she wasn't so embarrassed anymore. Seriously, this girl could probably cure cancer with that smile.

After making certain Beca wasn't about to die from her taco, Chloe opened up the bottle of hot sauce and poured a horrifying amount of it onto the taco.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence as they ate, Beca's iPod playing softly in the background. She tensed a little when one of her newest mixes started playing through the speakers, and forcibly willed herself to watch Chloe to gauge her reaction. The redhead slowed her chewing, listening intently to the music before she turned her gaze back to Beca, a questioning glint in her eyes. "I don't think I've heard this before? Where'd you find it?"

Beca flushed a little. "Well actually, I made this one. That's kind of what I do, you know, as a deejay and a producer."

"Seriously?! That's amazing!"

Beca grinned around her blush. "Thanks. I take it you like music?"

"Oh totes! Music is my life and probably just a step under people when it comes to things I'm passionate about. I even spent an extra three years at Barden to get my Masters in music education."

"You went to BU?" Beca asked, making another taco. Chloe nodded.

"I did. Spent seven years as a Barden Bella. That's an all-female a cappella group-"

"Wait! You were a Bella?" Beca had paused in the middle of scooping sour cream onto her taco and was staring at Chloe like she had two heads. Chloe nodded, her eyebrows furrowing at the brunette's odd expression. "So you know Stacie? Conrad?"

"Of course I know Stacie. She was my roommate for three years."

Beca dropped the spoon and slapped the counter in her excitement. "Dude, no way! I grew up with Stacie. She's like my best friend!" And it was just like something pulled out of a cartoon or one of Jesse's favorite cheesy 80's movie, the way Chloe suddenly gasped and her hands slapped over her mouth.

"Oh my aca-god! _You're_ the Beca she always talks about?"

"And you're the roommate she talks about!"

"How is this even happening right now!"

"I don't know dude! I mean, I've seen plenty of pictures of the Bellas, but I just didn't make the connection."

"I know! Stacie's shown me plenty pictures of you, but I just… Ah! How didn't I see it?"

"How have we never met before?!" Beca shook her head and the two broke out in loud laughter.

_Yip!_

Beca glanced down and saw Chloe sitting beside her, looking up at her with an unhappy expression. "What's the matter Chlo? You haven't touched your food."

"Does she want some of mine?"

"Oh no, no, no! I'm sorry, but I only try to feed her puppy food, not people food. Stacie spoils her enough as it is." Chloe nodded and they both glanced back down at the beagle laying resolutely by her food bowl.

Beca frowned. "I'm sorry," she said, sharing a look with Chloe and offering a small smile. "But, uh… would you try something with me?"

Chloe tilted her head to the side, red curls swaying against her bare shoulders, but nodded. Beca grabbed her plate and hopped off the stool, sitting down with her back pressed against the counter. She gestured for Chloe to join her and just as the redhead sat down beside her, Chloe stopped moping and practically dove into her food bowl.

Chloe shot Beca a grin. "Do you always do this?"

She shrugged. "Sometimes she just likes the company." Chloe nodded, shifting closer so that their shoulders were touching and together they finished their dinner, chatting about college, Stacie, music, and life in general.

When Beca went to put away the leftovers and start cleaning the dishes she noticed the bakery box Chloe had brought sitting on the counter. "Hey, what's in the box?"

"Dessert!" Chloe squealed, delicately untying the string and lifting the lid to reveal two perfectly decorated chocolate cupcakes.

"Wow, those look amazing. Where'd you get them?"

"I made them." Chloe smiled, handing Beca a cupcake and licking her thumb of the excess frosting. "Along with being a substitute music teacher, I work part time at the bakery downtown. After our little run in this morning, I popped into work long enough to make a batch of these for our date. Cookies are my specialty though." Beca hummed around a mouthful of cupcake, making Chloe laugh. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Issh rully guud!" Beca gave her a closed mouth smile and winked, chocolate crumbs sticking to the corners of her mouth. Chloe laughed, a small blush dusting her cheeks.

Chloe, who had been lying by their feet in a food coma, suddenly got up and disappeared down the hallway to the front door. Beca glanced at the clock on the microwave and noticed how late it was already and that Chloe was due for one more walk before it was time for bed. "Is it really 9:30?"

"I guess I should be getting home soon." And Beca couldn't help the little pang of disappointment at the prospect of saying goodbye.

"I'll walk you out."

Chloe was already scratching at the door, looking from the door to her leash to Beca then back to the door, and wiggling with excitement. Beca grabbed her leather jacket while Chloe grabbed the leash and latched it to the overeager puppy. Beca held the door open just as Chloe shot through the door, practically pulling her human counterpart along with her. When Beca locked the door she turned down the steps after the two, pausing for a moment before she frowned.

"You didn't drive here?"

"I like to walk," Chloe said, gesturing down the road towards Webster Park. "I live on the other side of the park so it's really not that far."

Beca shook her head. "Yeah but you shouldn't walk alone at night. You never know what kind of creep is looking to prey on a pretty girl."

Chloe smirked, a certain flirtatious twinkle in her eye as she stepped closer to Beca. "You think I'm pretty?"

Beca swallowed down the awkward stuttering on her tongue before she let it past her lips and instead breathed out, "I think you're beautiful."

They were close; closer than they had been in the store or in the parking lot, and even though they were outside it was if all the oxygen was being sucked away and consumed by the fire between them. Chloe leaned forward ever so slightly as her gaze shifted lower to Beca's lips and Beca didn't have time to worry if her breath smelled like tacos or if she left the stove on or if she was falling for this girl because suddenly-

Chloe pulled on her leash and yanked the humans apart, completely unaware of the moment she had just ruined. Beca swore under her breath at her beagle's impeccable timing and jogged to catch up to them. The moment had passed but Chloe was still smiling and they fell back into comfortable chit-chat. The more they talked, the more Beca found herself liking the fact that Chloe was so easy to talk to. Like old friends just catching up or something.

They were half-way through the park when a breeze blew that had both humans and dog shivering. Beca glanced at Chloe, watching as she rubbed her bare arms and her teeth rattled, when it suddenly dawned on her. "Oh crap! Your coat is back at my house."

Chloe gave her a shivering smile. "That's okay. We're nearly to my apartment so I think I'll manage," but Beca was already shedding her jacket and offering it to Chloe.

"I don't want you to catch a cold. Plus I'm in a long sleeve and you're in a dress so I'll be better off."

"But you're tinier than I am and I'm afraid you might blow away without it."

Beca scoffed, taking the leash from Chloe and handing off her jacket. "Just take it. Please?"

Chloe smiled and grabbed the leather jacket from Beca, their fingers brushing, and pulled it on. It was a little short on her and the sleeves stopped just before her wrists, but Beca had to admit she liked seeing Chloe in her jacket. She knew Jesse would have literally squealed (he says it's called 'fangirling') at this "movie moment" and she knew she was in for a barrage of text messages later when she got around to telling him and Stacie about the date; they were her designated "wingmen" (or in Stacie's case "wingwoman") after all.

They arrived at Chloe's apartment far too soon. Chloe turned to face Beca when they reached the building door, taking off Beca's jacket and handing it to her. "Well, this is me." She smiled, soft and almost shyly, leveling Beca with a hooded blue gaze that had her stomach flip-flopping. "I had a really great time tonight."

Beca swallowed her nerves and managed a half grin. "Yeah, me too."

"We should do it again sometime."

Beca was about to agree (probably too enthusiastically) when she felt something tighten around the back of her knees and she looked down in time to see Chloe loop around both their legs, sniffing the ground and completely oblivious to what she was doing.

"Chloe, wait-" The beagle tugged on the leash, making Chloe stagger in her heels.

"Oh!"

Chloe's hands landed on Beca's shoulders while Beca's arm circled around Chloe's waist to steady the both of them, dropping her jacket. "Oh, I uh… s-sorry. Let me just-"

She suddenly realized the position she was in, that they both were in, and once again the smell of cinnamon and cookies overtook her senses. Oxygen was lacking. Proper brain functioning stopped. The butterflies in her stomach were pounding. And Chloe was watching her.

Half-lidded beautiful blue eyes that gleamed in the pale floodlight glow. The fire was back and burning brighter than before. Chloe's hands came up to cup her cheeks, gently pulling Beca's face to hers. And just before Beca closed her eyes, she caught a glimpse of Chloe sitting patiently beside the two humans (she could've sworn her pup was smirking).

 

And as cliché as it sounds…

It was the best damn kiss of her life.

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't really know how else to end this so this seems like a good stopping point, right? Let me know if you guys liked it or what needs work (I currently don't have a beta-reader (I don't really know how those work either) so feel free to point out my mistakes). Here's to 2017, Pitches!


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